Sponsored by Crystal Palace Yarns...
Join us for a Prime Time KAL. Starts January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2011. Complete a project for each month of the year and you will be eligible for the grand prize drawing.
4th Annual Holiday (or Not) KAL starts on September 24, 2011 and ends December 11, 2011.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

This is the scarf/shawlette that I made for my "Me" project. It's Larch, a free Ravelry download. It calls for 450 yards of fingering/sock weight yarn, but the pattern says you can modify it to use less. I made it as written, but still used a bit less than the 450 yds.

The yarn was a merino sock yarn that I hand dyed myself, dipping the ends in black dye and letting it wick upwards which created the light gray to black shading. I am very pleased with the way it turned out.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Look what I got in the mail! Panda presents from last years 12/12/12boy! I am so excited.

It is a present for being brave yesterday.

I had a breast biopsy yesterday that was a bummer. I passed out after the second sample. They were gonna stop and re-schedule with a "knock out doctor" but, I told them they wouldn't get me back in there for that lump. So, they did five more and this is my adult ice cream cone!Thanks so much Susan! (and Adrienne for all of your hard work!)

The other pictureis of my toothless kids! Nathan lost his first big tooth and Katie her third on one side! The tooth fairy has been to our house a lot!

It's been cold and snowy here in Oklahoma for two weeks now, so when the mail arrived and I saw the CP return address label I tore into the package with the glee of a kid on Christmas morning. New yarn always has that effect on me, and the two gorgeous finger lickin' (look'in'?) good skeins of Panda Superwash in colorway BBQ Sauce are rich and warm in color. A great remedy for the winter blues.

Socks or lace? Socks or lace? I'm not sure so maybe they need to hang out on my desk until I know what they want to be. I'm sure a little fondling will help.

February finishes. . . I have been on a bit of a stripey kick and made legwarmers for dance in Knitpicks Chroma Lollipop. They were the hit of mini ballet class. I also finished one last request for fingerless gloves also using Chroma in New England. And I finally got around to felting a huge wash of stuff and finished a couple little "Abbi's Purses" first. (I forgot a progress photo of my 2nd but was trying to enlarge the size-in the end I like the original pink version best-small is just cute!)

my ufo's are dwindling and I am onto All About Me socks for awhile! yay

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

For February, I am making a pair of socks out of Alpaca yarn for my oldest daughter. I found an awesome pattern in a book called Undulating Rib and I really like it plus it was easy to do. Here are pictures of the start of the socks:

and on the foot:

I almost have the first sock done. The pair will probably come in a little under 350 yards so I also have a cotton towel started to cheer up my dryer and keep it clean:

Crazy Cardi -- Finished. And it was Crazy. I started out with a basic raglan recipie -- found in One Skein Wonders -- called "Shrug This". Since my yarn - New Zealand Colourworks Naturally -- was bulkier, I just knit to fit....adding a 6 inch lace panel at the bottom so the sweater wasn't so "cropped" This took all but about a foot of the 6 skeins -- 340 yards -- with just enough to sew on the button. ( Yes, I was sweating the cast off.....slight panic!!)

Finished my project for February - Star Athena's Chirality socks! These took about 350 yards of KnitPicks Risata and were made on a size 1 circular. It's difficult to manage 4 balls of yarn doing 2 at a time magic loop, but I managed it. =D

I made a few modifications to the pattern so it'd be tiled instead of having bands of color in between each design segment.

I loved this yarn my mother in law sent me.....but finding a pattern for something I would love is a little different...First I started with a Chunky Cabled Vest -- knit 2 inches and didn't have the gauge. (Yes..I did knit a swatch first, but because this is a thick & thin yarn, a swatch didn't tell the whole story) So I am adapting a neck down raglan cardi pattern. I have 300m -- so the sleave length will have to be determined later. I thought it would work best because I can "fit" it as I go along..... I am calling it CRAZY CARDI -- and think the colors will be great for spring.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Easy Triangle Shawl -- this is from Lion Brand Yarn Co -- online free pattern---with a ruffle added ( I didn't like the crochet trim that was on the pattern. Total yardage used about 320 yards of James Marble Chunky on size 10.5 needles. Good "traveling" project.

Rules for 2011 PrimeTime KAL

Projects cannot be started before December 31, 2010. No 2010 wips or ufos allowed.

1. Post PROGRESS picture of project and tag post "2011 PrimeTime"

2. Post picture of finished project and tag post "2011 PrimeTime". Please use your name as listed on sidebar so you get credit for the project. PICTURES OF PROJECTS MUST BE POSTED WITHIN 4 DAYS FROM THE END OF EACH MONTH FOR CREDIT.

3. Need to finish one project per month. Project(s) must use a minimum of 300 yds for a knitted project and 500 yds for a crocheted project. Please show all items in one post if you are making a "set" for the month. If yarn is knit multi-strand, yardage will be counted as if multi-strand is single...ie. 200 yds knit doubled counts as 100 yard.

4. Grand Prize winner will be randomly drawn from everyone who completes the challenge of finishing a minimum of one project for each month of 2011

5. Special prize drawings will be held periodically from the pool of projects knit with Crystal Palace Yarns. Projects must be made with a minimum of 90% CPY to qualify and must meet KAL yardage requirements. Qualifying projects will have a ♥ after the month.